Study on the adsorption behavior of tin from waste liquid crystal display using a novel macroporous silica-based adsorbent in one-step separation

•Separation of indium and tin was vital for recycling indium while treating waste LCD.•D2EHPA/SiO2-P exhibited excellent adsorption selectivity and kinetics towards Sn(IV).•Distribution coefficient SFSn/other metals was over 1479 mL/g in 6 M H2SO4 solution.•H atom in D2EHPA was exchanged by Sn atom with 0.016 eV in the adsorption process.•OH bond in NaOH caused SnO bond to break with 1.738 eV in the desorption process.